New movies: 'Forgetting Sarah Marshall'

UniversalGet ready to see a lot more of Jason Segel and not nearly as much of Kristen Bell in "Forgetting Sarah Marshall."

Forgetting Sarah Marshall

Pairing "Freaks and Geeks" goofball Jason Segel with sassy "Veronica Mars" star and Michigan native Kristen Bell seems like a home run for fans of those brilliant but canceled TV shows (especially podcast host Tim Agne).

"Forgetting Sarah Marshall" is the story of a man who breaks up with his celebrity girlfriend and takes a trip to Hawaii to forget about her. Problem is, she's staying at the same resort with her new European boyfriend.

Sadly, James Sanford says this Judd Apatow production relies too heavily on comedy stereotypes. There's a pair of super-religious newlyweds who are clueless about sex, for example, that "Marshall" tries way too hard to milk for laughs.

But James admits that the last 10 minutes of the movie are so funny that they almost redeem the whole movie.

Don't let the title fool you into thinking it's mercifully short — this movie is 107 minutes long! Finally getting a release after being filmed almost three years ago, critics are calling "88 Minutes" Al Pacino's worst movie ever. Pretty discouraging if you've seen Al Pacino stinkers "Author! Author!" or "Any Given Sunday."

It's about a professor moonlighting as a forensic scientist marked for a murder by a killer he sent up the river years ago. Even if you dig that premise, we've heard the payoff is lame.

Forbidden Kingdom

Pairing legends Jackie Chan and Jet Li, this is a family movie about an American kid transported back to ancient China where he teams up with martial arts warriors. Does that plot sound like "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3" to anybody?

Expelled

This documentary bills itself as highly controversial as it asserts that academics with theories rooted in intelligent design have been ousted from the scientific community, and it's narrated by Ben Stein. But if the makes a convincing case for intelligent design, why wouldn't they let critics into the advance screenings?

New on DVD

"Juno" — fantastic acting, an Oscar-winning screenplay and a delightfully lo-fi soundtrack are just a few of the reasons everyone went nuts for this ultrahip comedy about teen pregnancy.

"Lars and the Real Girl" - Unless you live in Grand Rapids, you probably didn't get much of a chance to see this in theaters. Don't be put off by the quirky premise — a lonely man buys a very expensive sex toy — and let yourself enjoy this beguiling, heartfelt comedy. You'll see why James named it one of his top 10 movies of 2007.

"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" - If you missed this thriller about two brothers the plan to rob their parents' jewelry store, you're missing out on great performances from Phillip Seymour Hoffman and Ethan Hawke. This is a must for "Pulp Fiction" fans.

"Alien vs. Predator: Requiem" - James hasn't seen it, but the fact that it's rated R means it has to be better than the PG-13 original, right?

Since the discussion of "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3" is actually quite relevant, we nominate our idea for a big-screen adaptation of the video game Q*bert. Listen to the podcast and learn why only Pixar has the skill to bring this 8-bit epic to life.